The St. Charles Branch layout represents the end of the Southern Railway’s St. Charles branch from the small town of St. Charles to the ends of the branches to Mayflower, Kemmergem and Monarch/Benedict. It occupies a 12′ x 16′ unfinished room in my basement. My goal is to model this area as “phase 1” and progress eastward toward Appalachia, VA in an adjacent room in the future (phase 2).
Many tipples in this region came and went in the diesel era. While each operating session will model a specific year, the layout is designed to allow operations for any year from about 1960-1982. Tipples that didn’t span that entire time frame will be removable.
Phase 1 is a double-decked layout and is built in 4 distinct vignettes. Vignette 1 on the lower level represents the town of St. Charles including the wye, station, three-track yard and a pair of loaders from the later era. Vignette 2 represents the end of the branch up Bailey’s Trace to Mayflower where a good-sized tipple sat over four tracks–this classic tipple was converted into a truck dump and lasted into the ’80s.
Vignette 3 on the upper level represents the branch to Kemmergem and the tiny town of Turners Siding, VA. Like Mayflower, the classic Kemmerer Gem No. 2 tipple at Kemmergem was converted to a truck dump and stood standing into the ’90s. Vignette 4 is the end of the St. Charles Branch including Monarch (demolished in the ’60s) and the switchback to Benedict. The tipple at Benedict skinnied down its operations to only three tracks by the ’70s, but the stub-ended arrangement and steep grades were a headache for mine run crews into the ’80s.
Staging for phase 1 consists of two yards with 4 tracks each. The first yard, a stub-ended affair under St. Charles, represents the L&N branch to Pennington from whence the L&N mine runs came. The second yard is a double-ended reversing loop under the helix representing Appalachia, VA. (later Andover, VA) where the Southern based the locals that supplied the St. Charles Branch with hoppers. The fourth track also provides a continuous running loop connection for breaking in new locomotives and entertaining kids.
Due to the tight space, the minimum radius for curves is 24″, though most visible curves are 30″. All track except for hidden areas is hand laid using code 70 and code 83 rail with some code 55 for smaller sidings. Benchwork is open grid using 1×3″s and 1×2″s supported from the walls with a few strategically placed legs and supports. Scenery will be made from cardboard mesh with glue-soaked red rosin paper for the shell.
Control is via Digitrax DCC. Because the layout can be operated with just a handful of locomotives, a Zephyr acts as the command station (for simplicity) with a DCS100 acting as a booster. Throttles are UT4D 2-way wireless walk-around throttles.
I really like this plan, Dan. I’m always impressed by your ability to pack so much operation into such small spaces. The curves and track layout always have a great Appalachian feel to them. This layout will be a blast to operate.
Those curves are a big reason I hand-lay my switches. Sometimes you just need to lay a No 7.3 curved turnout!
Very cool, Dan. I too have a fondness for the Southern’s St. Charles branch. Especially the Pocket area and L&N Jct. areas. Those two would be great areas for staging entrances, what with L&N diverging, crossing a river and ducking into a tunnel, and the Southern rounding a curve and into the woods. I’ll be watching anxiously to see the progress and what if any adjustments you find you’ll need. thanks for inspiring us with designs and history. JJH
I’ve already got phase 2 sketched out, and Pocket is a major feature! I had a track plan for the current room that included Pocket, but everything was so compressed, and it required a spaghetti bowl of hidden track. It was better to save that area for another space where I could do it right just like you describe.
Dan
I may have overlooked it someplace but what is the era you are modeling? Is it like 1968?
Bill, you can find some of this info under “track plan,” but my goal is to be able to run ops sessions for any year from about 1960-1982 with a focus on 1964-1978. The track plan captures all 11 loaders that were active in this area (at least as far as my research shows) during that timeframe. There was never a period where all 11 were active, so the era-specific loaders will be removable and only installed when appropriate for a session. Sessions will represent a specific year, so the locomotives and cars will be swapped out as needed along with the loaders to be appropriate for the represented year. I also plan to color-code switch controls so yellow-labeled controls, for example, will only be usable during early sessions, blue will only be usable during late sessions, and uncoded are tracks that were constant from 1960-1982 and available for use during any session. Operators will be fined for touching an “off-limits” switch 😉
G’day Dan,
Great to see you have a new layout underway, only took me two years to notice, but we tend to be a bit slow on the news down-under! Great prototype, the St. Charles branch, I also looked at it as an option before I settled on Norton-Dixiana-Glamorgan (based on some very good advice). As always, your track plan has nailed the essential character of the branch and made allowance for the full scope of operations! Not sure whether its a gift or a super power you have there but I am always impressed by the masterful way you produce operations focused track plans. It will be great to see how you’re new layout progresses and how closely it follows your original plan, No doubt, we’ll learn a lot from your building phase (read that as I’ll learn a lot!!).
Will be checking in regularly now to keep track of your progress and to inspire me to extract digit and get on with my own poor facsimile!
All the best
George